One Legacy Joins Another: McCormack & Boston Legacy FC Launch Together

Long before Boston Legacy FC kicked off their inaugural National Women’s Soccer League season this year, their story resonated 100 miles west, in Amherst. Alumni from the Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management permeated the Legacy’s front office, helping build across all areas of their club as professional women’s soccer returned to the Bay State for the first time in almost a decade. Between the alumni who joined the club and current students working on experiential learning engagements with the Legacy, many members of the McCormack community have impacted their maiden season.

Boston was officially awarded an NWSL expansion franchise in late 2023, and it didn’t take long for the club to form. In the span of three months, four McCormack alumni began the next stage of their careers with the team. The first McCormack alumnus to be hired by the Legacy was Sam Barlow ’15, who had spent the previous four years with the NFL’s Washington Commanders, most recently as director of group and inside sales. Barlow—a 2026 McKelvey Alumni on the Rise Award winner—joined the Legacy as vice president, ticket sales and service, in April. He was soon joined by Inside Sales Representative Alexa Kelley ’25, who started with the Legacy just a month after her graduation. 

Just weeks later, Jonathan Becker ’18 followed as manager of premium sales and service, following his six years with D.C. United, and Jenna Melvin ’22—also joining from the Commanders—was appointed as senior account executive, membership service. Group Sales Manager Marissa Badorini ’23 completed the UMass quintet in January of 2026. 

Meanwhile, inside the Isenberg School of Management, a talented cohort of current undergraduate and graduate sport management students were also engaging with the Legacy. Members of the MBA/MS dual-degree graduate program had the opportunity to sign on as consultants for the club as part of their Capstone Practicum project, tasked with developing a college student marketing and activation plan for the Legacy and reporting directly to CRO Amina Bulman. 

In advance of a season where the Legacy prepared to split time across two different stadia (Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA, and Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket, RI) while their permanent home, White Stadium, undergoes renovations in Boston, capturing fan support and connectivity would be vital to solidifying the fanbase of people ages 18 to 25 across a university-rich region. What better problem to ask current MBA students to tackle? 

“The MBA consulting team provided valuable insights as we launched our club in its inaugural season,” said Bulman. “They were data-driven and thoughtful throughout, providing valuable primary and secondary market research paired with realistic ideas that our team could implement to drive business growth. We're grateful for the work they did and will be implementing their recommendations.” 

McCormack’s graduate program director and senior lecturer, Will Norton, said the project was very rewarding for the MBA students. “This project challenged our students to tackle a living, breathing brand marketing challenge on behalf of an emerging property in a vibrant professional sports market,” he said. “From developing and deploying primary market research tools, to analyzing and visualizing the data in order to tell a clear story of the motivations and constraints of the target market, to activating those insights within the frame of a realistic ‘Back to School’ college student marketing plan, our students created real value and were able to simulate the kind of work that awaits them in industry.” 

Experiential learning projects with prominent sports and entertainment companies are a long-standing hallmark of the McCormack Department of Sport Management’s culture of learning. In addition to the three-month-long graduate student project, undergraduate students also contributed to the growing sense of unity between the school and club. The Women in Sport Management (WISM) club successfully executed a case study competition focused on theme night development, fan engagement, sponsorship activation, and sales and marketing strategy for Boston Legacy's inaugural stadium season, led by senior Erin Zafian.

"This was exactly the kind of experiential learning opportunity we strive to create for our students,” said Emily Must, director of internships and senior lecturer. “They stepped into the role of real consultants, presenting creative, research-backed proposals directly to Boston Legacy staff and the ideas they brought to the table for promotions, merchandising, content creation, and fan engagement were genuinely impressive.

"What made this experience even more special was being able to take it beyond the classroom and the Zoom screen,” she added. “About 30 of our students attended the Legacy match on May 1. Not only did we have a tour and get to chat with Legacy staff, but we also got to cheer on the club together as they earned their very first franchise win. It was a perfect way to bring the full circle of learning to life."
 

Current McCormack students have plenty of connection with Boston’s newest professional team, and as each group delivered its findings, it was to a front office with a bevy of familiar faces looking back at them. 

There’s an old aphorism about soccer being a universal language, understood by anyone across the globe. The McCormack Department of Sport Management’s past and present continue to enhance its mission by spreading that universal language into familiar territory with the Boston Legacy—and leaving a legacy of their own.